Portales making changes to dog rules

To deal with problems caused by dog packs in Portales, the city’s animal control services division is holding dogs picked up by police for only three days before euthanizing them instead of 10 days, the usual waiting period.

Kelly McClellan, the city’s Community Services director who added animal control director duties on Monday, said the new policy has been made necessary by the city’s limited kennel space and an urgent need to get problem dogs off the street.

“We have kennel space for some dogs, but we’ve been trying to hold as many as 30 dogs at a time, and we don’t have the capacity,” she said.

And dog-pack problems have been reported for at least a couple of months, McClellan said.

“People have been complaining about being chased, knocked off bikes, and being unable to walk on the street and sometimes to their own cars in driveways due to dog packs running loose,” McClellan said.

McClellan said the policy of three-day holds before euthanasia will be in effect until “we get the problem dogs off the street.” Then, she said, the 10-day hold policy will return.

In the meantime, she advised on a video program on animal control policies available on the city of Portales’s Facebook page , dog owners should ensure their animals are humanely controlled indoors or outdoors, make sure their animals are registered with the city and are wearing ID tags. City employees will contact owner if a dog with an ID tag is brought in, she said.

Persons seeking to adopt a dog, she said, should contact a local nonprofit animal rescue organization.

Speakers at recent city council meetings have been complaining about being cornered by dog packs, City Manager Sarah Austin said.

The problem of loose dogs and dog packs, she said, “is a community problem,” Austin said, “not just a problem for city administration.”